Won't Say Goodbye
by FireLionHeart
Summary: Pepper notices something off about the child of her two friends when it's time for mommy and daddy to go to work.


**A/N: First fanfic that I'm writing for one of my favorite movies. Please feel free to leave a comment criticism is welcome. I hope to start a chapter story soon but I've just started college so I'm not too sure how that'll end up but figured I'd get this one shot out of my head while it was there bugging me.**

**Of course we all know that I don't own the Avengers or anything that's even remotely related to it .**

Pepper, being the go to babysitter, was the first to observe the unusual interaction between the two assassins and their offspring. She was called unexpectedly one morning after the director had informed Clint of a sudden mission of utmost importance. Pepper didn't ask. She had long ago became accustom to the fact that her two deadly friends went on the kind of missions that could not and most likely would never be talked about. If the missions were bad enough she doubted that they even talked about it among themselves.

She had arrived later that afternoon armed with the young one's favorite candy. Natasha answered the door with a smile and a look of appreciation in her eyes. Pepper smiled back and stepped past her.

"Thank you so much for watching Kiera, I know its last minute..."

"It's fine Natasha really." She said dismissing the conversation with a wave of her hand. "We'll be fine, you two just make sure that you come back in one piece." She stared into Natasha's eyes with concern and hoped that the other woman understood just how serious she was being.

"Tasha...Oh hey Pep, thanks for coming." Clint said as he rounded the corner and noticed her arrival.

"Anytime." Pepper responded.

"We've got to go if we're gonna make it to the jet in time." Natasha stated as she picked up her bag from where it sat next to the door. Right on que little feet could be heard rushing across the floor. A moment later the little girl was flinging herself at her father without any warning. Clint instinctively turned and grabbed her out of the air. He wrapped the giggling girl in his arms and held her close.

"You're fearless my little hawkling." He said with a proud smile on his face. "What if I don't catch you one day?"

"You'll always catch me daddy," The girl said with a sparkle in her big blue eyes, her father's eyes.

"You know it," he replied with a wink that made her giggle again. He gave her one last hug before passing her to her mother's waiting arms. Natasha glanced at her husband for just a moment before giving her daughter her full attention.

"When will you be home mama?" She said as she snuggled into her mother's arms.

"Not long my darling." Natasha replied tucking some of the girl's bright red hair behind her ear. "Don't worry my little bird. You're gonna have fun with aunt Pepper right?" She asked trying to cheer the young girl up. "You can show her all your new drawings and all the new ballet moves you've learned." Kiera nodded at her mother's comments.

"We've got to go my hawkling." Clint said with a kiss to the top of her head. Natasha did the same and with one last hug she set her daughter down on the floor. "We'll be back before you know it." He said with a smile and got a small one back from her.

"Ok daddy."

"Love you baby girl," Natasha said with another kiss.

"And I love you too," Clint followed also stealing one last kiss. Kiera looked up at her parents for a moment before she replied.

"I'll see you later," she said and left to go into the living room. Pepper watched the girl leave then turned back to the two assassins who didn't seem fazed by the girl's reply.

"Ok, so we're gonna be going now. We're hoping to be about a week at the most." Natasha said. "Thanks again for doing this."

"It's no problem," Pepper replied. Natasha nodded and reached for the doorway only to be stopped by Clint grabbing her wrist and taking her bag from her.

"Clint we're gonna be late." She said even as she reached for his as well. Silently they both checked to make sure the other had everything they were going to need. It was a ritual she had noticed. Every time before they left, no matter if they were going to be late, they'd always make sure the other wasn't leaving something that may be important behind. She had also heard from Tony that they made a habit of checking each other's weapons after they had suited up and were preparing to work. After the check they gave each other a nod and switched their bags back.

"Bye Pep," Clint said as he opened the door for Natasha.

"Stay safe you two." She replied. Clint smirked and stepped out the door.

"Always," he said before the door closed. Pepper sighed and knew that she would be worrying about her friends for the next few days. She put the thoughts out of her head for the time being and went to the living room to find Kiera sitting on the floor and coloring in her book at the coffee table.

"Hey sweetie," she sat on the sofa and Kiera looked up at her with a smile. "I brought you something." She reached into her pocketbook and took out the candy she had bought for her. Kiera's eyes lit up as Pepper handed it to her.

"Thank you aunt Peppy!" Pepper smiled at the nickname Kiera had given her when she had first been learning how to talk.

"You're quite welcome little one." Kiera happily put a piece in her mouth and turned back to color her picture some more. Pepper slipped from the couch to sit next to her on the floor. "Hey Kiera can I ask you something?" The girl's hand stilled and she looked up at Pepper with a nod. "Why didn't you tell mommy and daddy that you love them before they left?" A sweet smile spread across the girl's lips.

"It sounds to much like goodbye. I'll tell them when they get home." Pepper was dumbfounded for a moment. She knew that Clint and Natasha had told their daughter they had a dangerous job catching bad guys. They had to, it would be hard to explain why mommy or daddy would sometimes be unable to pick her up or play with her, or the wounds they sometimes suffered and couldn't hide, if they didn't at least explain part of what they did. But Pepper also knew for a fact that they didn't even come close to scratching the surface of how dangerous their jobs really were when they explained it to the young girl. The only thing the young one was suppose to know was that mommy and daddy caught the bad guys, put them away, and returned home to her. Pepper figured that somehow she must have sensed at least some of the danger that was centered around her parents.

"Of course," she said running a hand through the child's hair and giving her a warm smile. Kiera went back to coloring and explaining some kid movie that she had watched with Clint a few days ago. Pepper listened to every word and laughed when she knew Kiera expected her two.

It was exactly one week later that the two assassins walked through the door and let their bags fall to the floor as their eager little one ran into her father's arms. She had learned not to jump at daddy when he has just arrived home from work. That had been a lesson taught after daddy had come home with a shoulder injury that had been made worse when he had caught her, because he would never not catch his hawkling. Pepper noticed the slightest bit of strain as he lifted the girl but she knew he would try his best to hide any injury from the little one. Pepper shot him a look and he nodded that he was ok. She looked at Natasha who did the same. Clint held Kiera between the two of them. Both had one arm wrapped around each other and one wrapped around their daughter.

"I missed you," she squealed with excitement as she hugged her parents.

"Oh we missed you too so so much," Clint replied for the both of them.

"I love you," kiera whispered barely loud enough for Pepper to hear.

"And we love you too little bird." Natasha said placing a kiss on her cheek. The family stayed like that for a while, locked in an embrace of pure happiness and love for one another.

**So I would love to hear what you guys think. I'm going to try and come up with a chapter story and if I'm not too busy I hope to start it soon. **


End file.
